Durham settles with fired police officer

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Durham, N.C. — The city of Durham has agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a federal lawsuit with a former police officer over her firing five years ago.

Alesha Robinson-Taylor was fired in October 2009 after Durham Police Department administrators learned she had collected more than $62,000 in overtime within 12 months. That was more than double her annual salary as head of the police department's "secondary employment" program, in which she helped assign officers to off-duty jobs.

Robinson-Taylor argued that she was fired because of gender discrimination, noting that male officers had been suspended or allowed to resign for more serious transgressions, such as drunken driving or dealing drugs. A city audit found that the department approved her overtime and never tried to find ways to reduce it, according to her lawsuit.

As part of the settlement, all information related to her termination will be removed from her personnel record.